A previous method for sending test packets over a computer network was mostly designed for use in an academic setting. As such, this method did not provide for centralized monitoring and did not provide mechanisms to support use in a commercial environment. An Existing Internet Protocol Measurement Protocol (IPMP) involved having hosts and routers place timestamps in packets as they were forwarded, but did not provide a sufficiently rich set of methods for controlling the recording of timestamps or for providing information about the timestamps that would be needed in a commercial network.
The present invention is therefore directed to the problem of developing a method and apparatus for enabling routers and other network devices to provide measurement information to permit proper characterization of a computer network.